Shopping, Shopping and More Shopping

This is how shopping is supposed to be! All of it!!! Go to any store you want - at almost any time you want - wearing anything you want. And I am shopping until I am dropping. I came with a list of things that we had to have that we will ship back. The list is not as lengthy as it has been some years, but there are numerous items and it will make my return to the Sandbox just that much more pleasant for me to have these items. Crab meat. I have two cases ready to ship back. A new crock pot. I can't get my cigarettes in Saudi so I ship those back. The Honest Kitchen's dog food for my Kids. Bike shorts. Reese's peanut butter. Stacks of books - some of which if I do not put them in my suitcase and hand-carry them, very likely will not make it through customs, "Confessions of an Innocent Man - Torture and Survival in a Saudi Prison," by William Sampson is an example of one of the books I will hand-carry back [provided I am able to make it through Bahrain onto Saudi as there is that little glitch with my passport that says my Visa is no good - minor problem today - major problem when I am ready to return]. I've haunted all of my favorite clothing stores J. Crew, Banana Republic and Gap - the bathing suit stores - and department stores Nordstrom, Dillards... I am not done. There are still several malls that have are begging me to visit. My favorite "toy" stores for my Kids have all been happy to see me - okay, happy to see my credit card. The Kids will be happy to see Mommy when they realize they have a suitcase full of new toys! And, treats, too!

I am enjoying spending time with my Mom - who has her cast off at this point, although her arm is still in pretty bad shape and she is doing physical therapy several times a week to strengthen it and get it back to being usable. I feel terribly guilty about this. My bother and two sisters really are blaming me for the accident... I will never buy my Mom another pair of shoes again in her entire life - I promise, Mom! We are spending time with friends, here. The weather has been - up until yesterday - beyond perfect. Crisp blue sky, dry - no humidity [not at all normal for North Carolina in August!], and warm. Evenings require a sweater - I am acclimated to much, much warmer temperatures. It did rain all day yesterday, but even that - because it so rarely happens in the Sandbox - was a welcome change. My Mom has a family of deer that live behind her and every evening they come for dinner. One of the neighbor's puts out deer corn and I've started putting out cut up carrots and apples. There are five deer - two little babies still with spots. I will try to take pictures. It is peaceful and tranquil watching them from a not too far distance.

There is still quite a bit on my agenda. I will be meeting with a realtor to look at lake-front property and will spend a couple of days traveling around with her to find land. We know that we will return to North Carolina and we would like to think that we could start building - perhaps next year - at least the garage to the home we want so that we can store the boat and have our own place to stay - we will put an apartment over the garage. My grown-up Son is on the other side of the state and I will visit him early next week. A visit would not be complete without me harping on him that it is time to get married to the woman he has lived with for a few years and that it is time to make me a grandmother. I am the only one of my peers who is grandchild-less and I must dish out the guilt in this regard. That is what mother's do.

There is more. It is a very busy time. But for sitting in the evening either on the patio or in the sun-porch sipping Sterling I've had no down time. We will spend time at the beach and that will be down time. In the meantime, I am going to continue at the pace I'm going and make the best of my time in the States and return to the Sandbox with a new attitude and ready to live in a country where I can't do hardly any of what I am doing now...